Mark Hunting 'Round the World
by Charlett
Summary: Princess Ashe and her entourage find that a Mark a day keeps you able to pay! Your bills! Along with their need to save the world, they travel round the world to kill Marks of varying difficulty. This is a story of especially cinematic and epic Marks!
1. The Wyvern Lord

Quick oneshot, because I had recently fought the Wyvern Lord without any quickenings and soon learned that I was probably a moron for not killing the Mark in one fell swoop. Of course, I cannot WAIT until I fight the Mind Flayer, and I have spent many a night crying myself to sleep because they changed its name to Piscodeamon, copyright infringment or not.

Also, the disclaimer here is not only that I don't own FFXII (Duh?), but also I was playing this a while back and still haven't beaten the game, which means I haven't really seen all the character's personalities at their height. Which means that as I wrote this, I kept going, "GAH, everyone's all OOC!" Of course, I still am the only one who seems to think that compared to everyone else who's read this.

Uh... yeah... um... anyway, without further ado:

READ ON!

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The Wyvern Lord:  
The Hunt's Great Battle

The Sand Sea was filled with screeches that clear, dry afternoon, and a huge wyvern, the lord of his kind, swooped down with talons preparing to rake flesh. He barely missed his target, a dashing young sky pirate, who instead hid behind a rock, groaning a bit at the twinge in his neck. He cracked it and began loading up his gun, "Fran!" He called out, cocking the Vega, "Can you tell me again, WHY we're out here?"

A humanoid woman, with the long ears of a rabbit and the face of a rodent dropped down next to him, almost appearing out of nowhere. She began stringing an arrow into her longbow as she replied, "Do you not remember, Balthier? Vaan accepted the hunt to fell this Wyvern Lord, and we followed him out here."

"Yes yes yes yes yes," Balthier said quickly and dismissively to his partner, who popped up from her hidden location to shoot her arrow and duck back down next to him, "I know that! But why are WE here? A leading man is never in THIS much danger!" He hopped back up, shot a critical blow at the enemy, and dropped back down to reload the gun, "We're Sky Pirates! Not Mark Hunters!"

"I do believe you agreed to accompany Vaan because the Imperial Guard who posted the bill promised a great treasure and enough Gil to compensate our troubles," Fran replied.

"Oh yeah…" Balthier muttered, thinking again about that moment. After another moment, he cocked his gun again and continued, "But remember, Fran. The next time that boy asks us to go on another suicide mission, remind me to ignore him."

"Shall I remind you before or during the battle that will most likely cost us our lives?" Balthier's partner asked. The sky pirate blinked at his partner, and placed a cocky smile on his face. He swore that the two could read each others' minds at points in time.

"During, if you will," He replied, knowing that even if Fran didn't smile, she glowed with amusement at that answer. The two were interrupted when they heard a feminine scream, and Balthier kicked back into gear. Young Penelo was in danger! He leapt up and rushed from his hiding location, watching as the blonde teenager rushed away from the monster, her bow practically abandoned as it bounced on her shoulder. The wyvern extended his talons; there was no way HE could get to her in time. However…

"Vaan!" The sky pirate shouted. Fran seemed to have disappeared, and instead of the monster capturing a young woman's succulent flesh his talons, there was a powerful shield wielded by a young orphan blocking the strike. Vaan glared daggers at the monster.

"Don't you dare hurt her!" Vaan shouted, slashing at the wyvern as Penelo turned around and fumbled with an arrow and tried to fire at the enemy. The wyvern flapped his mighty wings and flew out of range of Vaan's close range strike. Balthier cursed.

"Who else has a long range weapon other than Fran, you and I?" He asked Penelo as he walked towards her. The woman couldn't bear to see Vaan being attacked that fiercely, and was closing her eyes as she fired. She blinked at the sky pirate, and shook her head.

"I think Princess Ashe has a few Black Magicks… but no, no one else…" Balthier sighed. HE was the one with the Black Magick…

"Well then, take a rest." Penelo blinked at Balthier even as she disappeared and Fran approached by his side, "You and I, Fran, are going to be the only useful ones in this fight, it seems."

"Well now…" Fran murmured as Balthier winced from the wyvern's brutal treatment of the male teenager (He wondered if that was Vaan's liver across the way…), "I wouldn't say that…" Balthier looked at Fran, and she prepared to fire, "Just follow my lead. We'll be able to do this if we all work together."

---

"Hey! Hey big, bad and scaly! Come and get me!" Dalmasca's Royal Knight, Basch, waved and taunted the monster, "Your mother's a Cockatrice!"

The wyvern attacked the man as he hid behind his shield, and the sky pirates prepared to shoot a little ways away. It was almost sad to see the knight being used as a human meat shield, but really, they were called "tanks" for a reason.

"Now what do we do?" Balthier shouted as Basch dropped, and Ashe rushed into the fray to avenge her knight's death, "Libra says it's only at half health, right? We just can't fight like this! We don't have enough meat shields!"

"It certainly does look bleak…" Fran agreed. She suddenly looked up and called to the princess, "Lady Ashe! Shell! Cast Shell!" The princess cast a questioning look at the Viera, but nodded and cast the desired spell. Not a moment too soon, as the wyvern cast Aero and knocked her off her feet. Without Shell, she might have flown off into the Sand Sea.

"Let's try this, one more time…" Balthier murmured, firing away as Ashe cast Protect and prepared herself for the long battle…

---

"Can I help?" Penelo asked as she arrived next to the sky pirates. Fran looked downcast and Balthier was loading up Vega again.

"Not much else we can go to for help," He replied as he cocked the gun. He pointed to a mush of red on the ground, "That's all that's left of Dalmasca's princess."

Penelo looked like she was going to be sick, and spoke even as her face turned a lovely shade of green, "Oh no! Do you think we can win?"

"We will if we want to live," Fran replied, firing an arrow. The Wyvern Lord approached the three, and the Viera took a deep breath. She seemed to be in thought, and she finally made up her mind. She would enact her plan now, "Balthier," She addressed her partner, "I would be glad to see you fly high without me. I won't be seeing you again." Balthier didn't realize exactly what she meant, but he understood the moment she applied Protect to herself and rushed into the fray, "Goodbye…"

"Fran! What are you doing?" He rushed after the Viera as she rushed towards the wyvern, drawing the enemy away from the two living people, "Fran! Fran, come back!"

He was held back by Penelo, who grabbed at his silken sleeve, "Mister Balthier, we should flee! I have Raise! We can bring them back later!"

"We've gotten this far, if we don't finish it…" Balthier hissed, and cocked his gun, "We're taking him down. Fran! I'll avenge you!" He pursued the enemy and Penelo rushed after the pirate. He fired again, and again, and stopped when he heard a sickening scream, and a squelch sound.

It was then that the wyvern turned around and bore down upon the two, one of Fran's ears held tightly in his clutches. Balthier's blood boiled and he fired one more time. That was the only one he could do before it reached at him and snatched his arms up, yanking hard in an attempt to rip him in two.

Penelo gave a cry and turned away, and her heart beat faster and faster, trying to shut out the screams of the pirate. Soon, she would be subject to that torture as well. She felt hot, and adrenaline pumped through her veins. She was going to die, she was going to die…

_No, you won't. _A voice that entered her mind confessed, calming the young woman down. _I swore to protect the Dynast-King, and now I swore to protect you and your friends. You will not die. Call me._

"Call… Call…" Penelo nodded, "I understand!" She stood up and grasped at her breast, closing her eyes and concentrating, "Belias, the Esper! Come to me! I summon you!"

A magickal ring surrounded the woman, and time itself seemed to have stopped. It was just as well that way, for the pirate's screams had threatened to interrupt her casting. It was at that moment, a gigas appeared as if from the bowels of hell itself. Time resumed, and Penelo saw that to protect her friends from the danger of Belias' attacks, they had all (or what was left of them) disappeared. All that was left of the still living Balthier was his arm, which had been wrenched from its socket by the wyvern. Penelo felt sick.

The wyvern dropped the arm after realizing his prey had disappeared, and flew down to pick up the young archer. He never made it that far. Belias swung his great axe at the monster, and the Wyvern Lord barely dodged the strike. Penelo crawled under and past the Esper to safety, and watched as the battle between beast and Magickal creature began.

The great Esper began to cast. In only a moment, his firey attacks knocked off tons of the monster's health. Penelo simply watched, eyes wide, as the Wyvern Lord tried in vain to claw the Esper apart. It didn't work, and the Esper finished his job by casting Hell Fire. Creating a huge ball of fire and adding its power to him, he cracked a huge chasm in the ground that drew up fire from Hell itself. The fire erupted from the chasm and seared the Wyvern Lord, and with that, it dropped to the floor, writhing a bit before disappearing into the desert sky…

---

The last thing Balthier remembered while in the clutches of the Wyvern Lord was white hot pain, and the next, he was sitting on the floor, staring numbly into space. And then white hot pain again. He felt something pressing on his shoulder, and he tried to reach out and grab at it, but a soft, fuzzy hand batted his hand away, and a familiar female voice chastised him, "I thought I said, 'Good Bye'. I did not want to see you look like this…"

He turned to look at Fran, who was reattaching his arm with Cura. He didn't reply all too quickly, as it still seemed too surreal, like a dream, "Are we really all alright?" Fran didn't reply, but let the sight of Vaan being tended to by Penelo while Princess Ashe prepared to Raise Basch be enough to answer the question. Her partner shook his head, "It's all wrong! It is hardly fit for a leading man to be saved by a young woman!"

She finally released his arm and started to reattach her ear, and she finally spoke, "The Gods truly are smiling upon us this day. We are alive. We will fight another day."

"Hey Fran?" Balthier said, making the Viera blink questioningly at her partner. He suddenly laughed aloud, "Next time, remind me NEVER to go on these quests again! The next thing we'll be doing is fighting against Wild Malboros or something!"

Fran glowed with amusement, "Funny you should say that…" Balthier swerved to glare at his partner, "Vaan recently accepted the bill to slay a Cluckatrice. He said to pick up some Gold Needles. We're going to need them."

Balthier groaned and pouted in the sand, "Strike that, just remind me to wring the boy's neck in his sleep."

Fran placed her hand on her hip, "I shall remember to remind you, my partner…"

**The End!**

**---**

Whee the end! Yeah, it's called a "One Shot" for a reason, although after I kill that Mind Flayer, I may want to write another Mark fic and whip it up. sigh I love Belias so much. So cool...

Anyway, reviews may be nice. If you find that the group is OOC, PLEASE tell me. Don't sugar coat it, doctor, thanks.**  
**


	2. The Mind Flayer

My favorite monster in the Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual? Anyone who knows me knows it's the Mind Flayer. People had evily told me that Square was calling it the Piscodaemon and I was so mad, but then I figured out it was all stories and I felt much happier, giddy... almost...

Anyway, I love Mind Flayers with all my heart and soul. The evil they spread and the desire for death that they possess is matched by only the most evil of creatures. They make such awesome bad guys. As I played around with this, I found myself melding the actual Mind Flayer (Charm, Brain Absorbtion) with the FFXII Mind Flayer. So the battle may be slightly different from when you fought it. The story is not especially angsty, but a little like... what's the word... suspenseful! I probably will continue this Mark Hunting story with more Marks as I fall in love with them one at a time. If you have one you'd like to see, I may be able to put it up, especially if it's one I enjoyed as well.

Thanks again for reading all of this. Hopefully you'll learn to love Mind Flayers as much as I do from this!

So, without further ado:

READ ON!

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Mark Hunting:  
The Mind Flayer

The Henna Mines were dark, damp, and dreary. It was the third time that Princess Ashe and her entourage entered the mine, and needless to say, they were getting quite tired of it. "Just how strong is this 'Mind Flayer' anyway?" Penelo asked, shouldering her Gaia staff as they wandered deeper into the winding caverns, "It… it's a mage, right?"

"An Amorph, to be precise," Balthier replied. Being a traveling Sky Pirate, he was the next best person to refer to for obscure knowledge now that the knowledgeable Larsa was trapped within Archadia's palace walls, "Evolved due to Mist, it is a highly intelligent monster, which makes casting magic extremely easy."

"We aren't finding it like this," Vaan interrupted, looking very impatient, "There are too many winding tunnels! Why don't we just split up?"

"I'm against that," Ashe interjected rather quickly, her voice tinged with annoyance; "This is a Mark, Vaan, and a pretty powerful one, as well. We don't want to be separated from the rest of the group if it has a powerful Doom spell or something of the sort. Right Basch?" She stopped when the Dalmascan Royal Guard didn't reply, and turned around to look down the tunnel they came from, "Basch?"

"It would appear he lost us after he cast 'Protect' on himself," Fran said, leaning on one of her legs and placing her hand on her hip.

Balthier slammed his palm on his forehead. Damned Gambits… "Well then, shall we backtrack to find him?"

"What if he's already been caught?" Penelo cried, eyes darting back and forth, "If the Mind Flayer lives up to his name, Basch's mind may already be flayed by now!"

"I don't think the Flayers actually flay people's brains, Penelo," Vaan corrected, trying to act sagely (and failing). The two then began to bicker like a married couple about whether or not the Mind Flayer's weapon of choice was a whisk used to liquidate Humeoid brains, and Ashe rubbed her temples, trying not to get angry from worrying too much about the guardsman.

The group was suddenly silent as Balthier held his hand up to silence the bickering, "Shhhhhh! Do you hear that…?" Everyone shut up to listen closely at the clomping that was approaching them, "It's not a Nightmare's hooves…" The Sky Pirate murmured.

"And Redmaws do not walk upon the ground," Fran replied.

"Could it be Basch?" Ashe asked with an air of hope.

"Perhaps, but I wouldn't be so quick to lower my guard," Balthier replied, dragging out Betelgeuse, cocking it with a glare at the sound, "Prepare for battle!"

Vaan already had his Ice Brand out and Fran pulled a lightning arrow from her quiver as the sound got louder. Penelo shivered a bit, clutching the rod as Ashe hoped for the best, dragging the Flamberge from its sheath. The group waited with baited breath as a figure appeared in the darkened tunnel, and Vaan let out an unconscious sigh when they noticed that indeed it WAS Basch, alive and seemingly unharmed.

"Basch!" Ashe proclaimed, sheathing her sword as Balthier stared at the knight, shifting his weight nonchalantly from one leg to the other. Penelo smiled and practically dropped her rod so she could rush to the man's side, placing her hands behind her back and stared up at the bearded man, "Don't scare us like that, okay?" The young woman asked.

Basch looked down at the woman, and Balthier blinked. It took only a second to react as the royal knight suddenly drew his sword, but the Sky Pirate had so many scrapes like the predicament before him that he only had to react like he usually would. He was glad they hadn't bought that Masamune for the knight back at the Phon Coast's Mark Hunter Village, or the katana that the knight had brought down might have sliced through his gun, "Penelo! Get away from him!" Balthier shouted, trying to hold the man's attack with his own weapon, "He's not in his right mind!"

Penelo nodded swiftly and rushed back by Vaan, who drew his weapon again as Fran nocked an arrow in her bow, "Fran! Disable him!" The Viera gave a small snort of acknowledgement, and aimed well at Basch's shoulder, hoping to incapacitate him enough to disallow his two handed weapon… It was then that all hell broke loose.

There was a scream that entered Balthier's mind. It was like his head was being slammed over and over by a heavy blunt hammer, making him cry out unconsciously. He released his hold on his gun and slumped to the ground as Basch straightened up and turned to the rest of the group. By the screams and roars of his fellow adventurers, they were getting the same mental treatment, and it Stopped them all from even moving, must less acting.

"D… D… Dammit…" Balthier hissed as Basch practically stepped over him, his heavy boots clinking upon the mine floor, "My head… I can't…"

Then the voice came. It was a horrible, monstrous, gut wrenching voice that was uttered by that spawn of the underworld as it slowly came into the room right behind the royal knight. It was a strange, squat creature, with enough mind power to keep it aloft two inches from the ground indefinitely. The robe it wore covered its hands, but strange, tentacle-esque feet dropped from the clothing it wore, and the head, oh the head. It was as if it was a squid with only four tentacles. Or was it five? Balthier couldn't tell, his eyes were crossing in a vain attempt to ease the pain in his head. Yet there it was, two inches in front of him: the Mind Flayer, the Mark they were supposed to kill. Already, however, it had eased its way into Basch's mind and was attempting to do away with the resistance in theirs. Yet Balthier would be damned if he let the creature whose tongue only demons could understand take control of his mind when the others were in danger!

"You… You…" Balthier hissed, reaching out to grab at the monster's strange leg. He missed every time, "Come down here an'… an'… fight!"

"Get out!" Fran suddenly screeched, leaping up and clawing at her scalp in an attempt to remove the influence on her brain, "Get out of my HEAD!" The Mind Flayer moved his head only slightly, whispering mutterings that would make normal men go insane just listening to, and it abandoned Basch's protection to fight the Viera's naturally strong will. The Hume was easy to control, as well as the Bangaa and definitely the Seeq, but the Viera was the toughest of all to reach deep into the brain and manage it against their will.

The Flayer actually seemed worried for a moment as she broke free of her restraints and leapt at the squid-man. Being a brawler, she could easily do more damage barehanded than with her long range bow. He seemed to have been casting, and suddenly released a huge helping of Bio on the Viera. Fran dropped to the floor, writhing from the spell as the harmful bacteria in her body multiplied impossibly fast, giving the Viera diseases that would have normally been resisted by her immune system.

Balthier hissed at the treatment of his partner, and as Basch slammed his katana down on Ashe's Diamond Shield repeatedly, the Sky Pirate dragged himself upward, cocking his gun and pointing it at the enemy, "You… little…" He was able to gurgle, trying to ignore the screaming in his mind.

The Mind Flayer gave the Captain a look, as if to say, "You're kidding, right?" and slowly floated towards the gun toting enemy. Balthier fired straight into the Mind Flayer's head, which stopped it for only a moment, and made Basch reel backwards with a gasp.

Recovering from the attack, the Mark released a spell, Invert, which increased Balthier's spirit but dropped his stamina. The man's eyes rolled into the back of his head and he gave a groan, dropping to the floor. The monster caught him before he slumped over, holding the Sky Pirate up under his armpits. Penelo tried to stand as Vaan finally was able to help Ashe keep the charmed Basch at bay. She then pulled up her rod, trying to cast as Balthier stared defiantly at the Mark as the Mind Flayer dragged the Captain around wherever he pleased, its tentacles writhing in anticipation. It seemed extremely happy.

"Balthier!" Penelo cried as she continued to cast, "I… I'll try and… and…" The group gaped as the Sky Pirate screamed out loud; the Mind Flayer's tentacles sucking deeply on the man's scalp. The sickening slurping sound made Penelo grab at her mouth to keep from throwing up, and Fran gave a moan of sadness as her partner's brain was slowly absorbed directly into the amorph's being. Balthier's heart immediately stopped, and the Mind Flayer dropped the Sky Pirate to the floor with a laugh that sounded like a squelching noise. The man didn't even twitch; his central nervous system eaten along with the rest of his brain.

"Holy sh…" Vaan whispered once he finally regained the ability to use his tongue to form words.

"Fran!" Ashe screamed as she tried to keep the royal knight from slicing her in two, "Disable him, PLEASE!"

If there was any time the group needed a critical hit, it was now. With Fran feeling especially pissed from losing the "Invincible" Leading Man, it was no surprise that her strike hit true and hit hard. Her arrow slammed into Basch's arm with such force that he was flung backwards, pinning him into the wall with a bestial roar. The Mind Flayer turned to the knight as he ineffectually attempted to wrench the lightning arrow from his shoulder, and then to Vaan and Ashe as they held their swords aloft, knowing that now it was payback time…

The Mind Flayer tried to stop them from attacking him with his mind scream, but Penelo's Shell kept it at bay. Fran immediately cast "Poisona" on herself and prepared to fire, "Penelo," The Viera said quickly, "Take Balthier." The young mage looked at her friend and Fran's ears twitched due to annoyance, "He needs to be raised! Take the corpse and raise him!"

"You can DO that?" Penelo asked, flabbergasted that one can revive someone without a brain. Deciding not to press further and just take Fran's words to heart, the young woman rushed towards the deceased Sky Pirate, grabbed him by the arms, and dragged him away from the battle.

"Ugaaahh!" Ashe cried as she fell victim to the Invert spell, dropping to the floor with hardly any stamina to keep upright. Fran immediately abandoned attacking with her bow and began to cast Curaga. If she didn't, the princess may have fallen victim to the Mind Flayer the same way Balthier had.

"Raise!" Penelo cried, placing her rod on the man's forehead, "RAISE!" The trumpet sounded and immediately the Sky Pirate gave a gasp, his eyes popping back to normal, sucking in deep gulps of air. Penelo gave a happy cry and had to keep from hugging the man with happiness.

"Oh… my head feels like a ton of bricks where dumped on me…" The Sky Pirate muttered. He then looked up and saw Penelo's upside-down face, "And who might you be, little one?"

Penelo gave Balthier a half smile and laughed out loud, "Hah! What a joke, Balthier! It's me, Penelo!"

"…" The Captain smiled at the woman's giggling and cocked his head, staring at her questioningly, "So that's my name then? Balthier?"

"FRAN!" Penelo instantly changed her tune and looked up with fear towards the smiling man's partner, "He's gotten amnesia! What do I do?"

"Ugg!" Fran grunted as she fired another shot and knocked another arrow in her bowstring, then proceeded to answer the question, "His memory is lost from the mind flaying. Curaga should fix it!"

The mage nodded without asking how it would work, and began to cast the desired spell, "Got it!"

A screech emitted from the Mind Flayer as Vaan stabbed the Ice Brand into the Mark's shoulder, and Basch's eyes blinked repeatedly. He shook his head to snap himself out of his charmed stupor.

"Oh dear gods…" He murmured, his head swerving to look at Ashe, his eyes wide with fear, "My Lady! I didn't… did I hurt you?"

"No… you… didn't…" Ashe said as she dropped backwards. Both she and Vaan were victims of a recent Thundara, and she was trying to regain her composure, "But I'd ask that you help if you can…"

Basch immediately began to cast Cura, despite being pinned to the wall. He would do whatever he could to protect his princess. After that he began casting Protect, and then whatever other buffs he could. Ashe was especially grateful for the man, especially since he was still working with an arrow lodged in his shoulder.

Balthier stood up, rubbing his head as he started remember his entire life story, "Once again, Penelo, I owe you my life. A Leading Man should be protecting you, though. Please forgive me; you have to keep watching me, don't you?"

Penelo dug her foot into the ground, blushing a bit as Balthier continued to sing praises to her. He did it to all the women, but she just couldn't help but feel the blood rush to her cheeks, after all. "Hey!" Basch said, motioning towards the arrow in his shoulder, "When you've got the time?" The Sky Pirate looked up and nodded a bit, then raised his finger to Penelo as if to say "Wait a moment". He was then by the Dalmascan Royal Knight's side and he grabbed the electric arrow, using all his strength to snap it in two so the knight could drag himself from the wall.

Basch only gave Balthier a snort of acknowledgement at the Sky Pirate saved him. He had much pressing matters at hand. The Mind Flayer had recently healed himself completely with sheer willpower and began a powerful waltz that caused Bravery and Faith within the Mark. It then rushed back into battle, Inverting people like there was no tomorrow.

Fran dropped to the floor because the Mark immediately cast Thundara after Inverting her, and the Viera was unconscious from the damage dealt to her. Penelo was by her side as the others whaled on the enemy.

"Dammit, how did its defense increase this much…?" Bathier hissed as he threw another Bio at the enemy and began casting Bubble as per his Gambit's orders, "Vaan! New plan!"

"What's up?" The orphan asked.

"1000 Needles," The Sky Pirate said as he grabbed Vaan's monkey vest dragged him closer, emphasizing each of his next words with a hiss, "DO… NOT… STOP… USING IT…"

"Got it!" Vaan replied with a salute as the gambits were immediately rearranged and he began using his technick. He sent needle after needle at the enemy and the Mind Flayer screamed, realizing that Vaan was the one doing the most damage. He Inverted Vaan but was immediately healed by Penelo. The orphan sent 1000 Needles at the Mark. He was Inverted and Ashe healed him. More needles were sent. Inverted again; this time a newly revived Fran healed him. Balthier groaned as Vaan sent even more needles and was Inverted and promptly healed again. Dammit was the monster THIS stupid!?

"Bio!" Another spell was cast, and Balthier looked to Basch, "You have the Mana left for a Mist Quickening, don't you?"

Basch turned to the Sky Pirate and nodded, "You got it," and he began to charge up the mist within him. With a shout, he threw it at the enemy as Balthier borrowed a bit of the mist that was released and used it to send another strike. Vaan picked up on the chain and threw his own Quickening as Ashe continued the attack. After ten strikes, the Mind Flayer hissed, still floating above the ground. He reached out towards the princess, who glared at the Mark, and the tentacles drooped, finally dropping to the ground, dust raising from the ground. The Mind Flayer… was defeated…

"Yahoo!" Vaan cheered, actually leaping into the air with a shout, "Excellent!"

The Viera smirked a bit, her ears twitching with joy as she watched Vaan and Penelo dance together, "The Gods are truly smiling on us this day."

"The Garif are safe again…" Ashe said, smiling at the news, "The Mind Flayer cannot feed on their sadness any longer."

"Well that's all well and good, but aren't we forgetting the best part? We need a reward for all of this, after all!" Balthier proclaimed, folding his hands like a demented merchant, "Sky Pirates don't walk deep into mines for exercise, you know."

Basch practically glared at the Sky Pirate. It was as if he were using Ashe to help get rewards for himself. He sighed and turned to Ashe, "My Lady… are we ready?"

Ashe looked in deep thought, and suddenly snapped out of it, turning to Basch, "I… yes, I do believe we are."

"Well then, what are we waiting for?" Vaan asked, pointing dramatically as Penelo laughed aloud and the group prepared to leave the mines, "Let's GO!"

**The End!**

---

I hope you guys enjoyed it! A reviewer said s/he wanted to see a story about the Gil Snapper. Unless there's a mark I MUST do because its too awesome for words (cough Madragora Group cough), then I will probably do that one next.

So yeah... Review or summin. I'm also planning on starting a small arc of short stories for each character one year before the game. They may have spoilers, they may not. So be on the lookout for them!**  
**


	3. The Pervert Flan, Orthros

Once I fought the Orthros, I was like, "OMG it's a PERVERT!"

So I wrote about it. Yay!

READ ON!

Mark Hunting:  
Orthros

"This is bad… very bad…" Vaan murmured, as he, Balthier and Basch hid in the West Sluice Control, waiting for the women to return from the Southern Sluiceway, "What if they can't handle it? What if they're…?"

"Vaan, the last thing we need is to be worrying," Balthier said, "Penelo will be fine, she's a strong young woman."

The last man, the only one not sitting on the steps, crossed his arms and looked wistfully at the location the women left from, "I just hope Fran is able to protect both Penelo and Her Highness."

"Do you doubt her?" Balthier said with an air of superiority, "That would be grounds for me to wring your neck, but we need you to take the damage that normally would dirty my clothes." Basch shook his head with a sigh. "Either way, this Orthros can't be that hard. My only regret is that I won't be able to see it drop with my own eyes. It's almost sad…" Balthier trailed off with a smile.

Vaan groaned, "Well… It's just… that contrite thief said that it only attacked certain people, right? What if she meant only Seeqs?"

"Why would a monster ONLY attack Seeqs? That doesn't make sense."

"Well, I suppose it makes only a little less sense than a monster that only attacks women." Balthier shot Basch a look, and Vaan sighed, hoping sincerely that Penelo would be okay through the battle the women were to enter.

---

Meanwhile, three women walked through the Southern Sluiceway, where the Flan known as Orthros was last seen with a contrite thief's stolen items. The thief had meant to return the stolen goods, but it was impossible for the tired, pudgy, piglike Seeq to fight a monster so strong. She had put up a bounty for a clan to fight the monster in her stead. It was Vaan and his group, through the clan Centurio, that answered the call.

However, the youngest of the three soon piped up with a worry, "Do you think we can do this all alone?" Penelo asked, "What if the Orthros thing only attacks men and we were wrong? I'm worried about leaving the others all alone."

"Basch is a powerful knight, and Vaan has had quite some good experience with a sword. Balthier is a pirate, he's faced enemies like this before," Princess Ashe said, shouldering her bow, "I think they'll be fine."

"It's just as well, because if the Mark attacked men, then it would never have shown itself before that contrite thief…" The Viera named Fran said, making Penelo gave a gasp in realization, "Therefore, it is safe to assume that this flan is not only intent on attacking females, but it should have an aversion to fire."

"The fact that it lives in a waterway where water elementals are prone to appear is proof enough," Ashe said, smiling in Penelo's direction, "So keep a good grip on those fire arrows, alright? I know we're used to using rods, but these bows will be much better for battle."

"Stay by my side, Penelo," Fran said quickly, her long, rabbit-like ears swerving suddenly, "I hear something approach. Something…"

"Gelatinous?" Ashe asked, pulling an arrow from her quiver. Penelo quivered where she stood, preparing the oiled arrows with fire and looking about the room; the monster must be around here somewhere… She took a few steps towards Fran, making sure not to make any sudden movements, and suddenly she heard a squelching sound. She whirled around, but realized the sound didn't come from behind her.

It came from above her.

Looking up with a cry, she saw the giant, glittering, purple flan, staring down upon her with a wicked smile she didn't quite recognize. Despite that, she recognized it enough to be a terrible grin, one that made her stomach churn. She snapped from her stupor when she heard the Viera say, "Penelo! Move!"

The Orthros was detaching itself from the roof of the waterway, and a large shadow appeared over the young woman. Penelo gave a scream and jumped just in time to keep herself from being totally enveloped in the sludgy flan, but she soon felt something sticky wrap around her legs. The Mark had landed and enveloped the woman up to her knees, and was proceeding to work its way up until she was completely encased in its sludgy body.

"Penelo!" Ashe shouted, letting fly the arrow she had pulled out before, "Be strong! We'll get you out of there!" She then abandoned all hope of actually damaging the flan (because it was practically immune to most physical damage), but when she saw the grin that the Orthros wore, she stopped in her tracks. She recognized that smile immediately. It was the smile of, "a pervert!" Ashe turned to Fran, her eyes wide with what appeared to be fear, "This flan's a pervert!"

"Get off of me!" Penelo screamed, clawing for the Yoichi Bow that she had dropped when she jumped away, "You ugly monster! Stop it!" Her legs hurt. It wasn't as much a tingle anymore; the monster was slowly digesting the lower half of the young woman. The moment she finally grasped the bow, she could feel the flan reaching out, and she felt sickened as the flan wrapped tentacle like appendages around her arms and waist. Her stomach flipped thrice and she called out for her friend, "Fran! Help me!"

Fran did not reply. She seemed to be spying the flan, biding her time, "So its weakness is fire, then…" She murmured. She had spent the whole time using Libra, to make sure her inductions were actually fact, "Penelo! Shoot it!"

"It's all over me!" Penelo screamed, flipping herself over and holding back a retch when she saw how close that evil, perverted smile was to her. She wrenched one of her arms free and grasped for an arrow. With a small incantation, she lit the oil on the arrow with a spark, and stabbed it into the tentacle that had wrapped around her other arm. The Orthros recoiled it with a scream, the entire appendage catching aflame.

"He's flammable?" Ashe said with a gasp. She turned to Fran, "So that's why you weren't casting magic! If you set him aflame…!"

"Penelo would be cooked as well…" Fran said, showing the princess once again that the Viera knew what she was doing, "Penelo! Shoot it!"

"R… Right!" The woman suddenly felt a lot more empowered, now that she knew the monster's weakness. Drawing back the bowstring, she knew she wasn't going to miss. It was just too close. With a cry, she let fly the arrow, which lodged itself between the Orthros' eyes. It gave another mind numbing scream as the perverted grin was burnt away. Using the time it was distracted, Penelo was able to drag herself out of the monster and rush to the safety of the Viera, hiding behind Fran and shuddering madly.

"Now! Firaga!" A fearsome blast of fire made the flammable flan explode much like oil. As the women watched it cook, Ashe tended to Penelo's wounds, which were both physical and mental. Fran's ears suddenly perked up and she began to cast again: "Shellga!" Immediately the women were surrounded by a magickal barrier just in time, as the Orthros cast Watera and doused not only the group, but itself as well, putting the fire out.

"Rinse and repeat," Ashe said, helping Penelo stand, "Do you think you can keep fighting?"

"Take the fire arrows, Lady Ashe…" Penelo said, handing them to the princess, "You can't cast Firaga, and I can." Ashe blinked at Penelo, and smiled, nodding.

"Right, you be careful now, alright?"

"As long as you promise to keep us healed!" The woman replied with a smile.

---

The battle raged on. It was quite simple, all the three had to do was keep the fiery attacks up, and the flan was soon turning from gelatinous to cake-y. However, the group was not without damage themselves. The Orthros had not only doused them in water and then shocked them with Thundara, but also slapped them around with its appendages.

"I think we're getting closer to taking him down!" Ashe said, sending another flaming arrow the monster's way. She then began to cast Curaja in an attempt to keep the others in tip top shape, "Let's keep it up!"

In one last desperate attempt to keep itself alive, the Orthros leapt at the three, gaping maw opened wide. Fran simply glared at it, and raised her hand, "Blind!"

And then she sidestepped simply away from the danger, causing the flan to splat on the floor, creating a puddle. The blinded flan looked about, but found that it couldn't see a thing. Penelo giggled aloud, "We should have done that at the beginning."

"I think that's the worst punishment a pervert can live with, don't you think?" Ashe asked, placing a hand on her hip, "Fran, would you do the honors?"

The Viera nodded, "We should finish it off now… FIRAGA!"

---

The tired Seeq smiled happily as Vaan and the group left the Garamsythe Waterway and approached the woman. They showed the stolen textiles to her, and Penelo proclaimed that, "We got the stuff back from that Othros! You're off the hook now!"

"Oh…! Oh thank you, young ones…!" The woman said, standing up and trying not to sob with delight, "I'm free! You…! I never thought someone would actually help me!"

"I'm just glad we were able to take care of it before it actually did anything other than water us down…" Ashe murmured, trying to smooth down her frizzling hair, "so… no more stealing, alright?"

"I've learned my lesson!" The contrite thief said, hiding her tears with her stubby arm, "I won't steal anything again…!"

"Well, I do believe Vaan has learned an important lesson," Balthier joked with a smile, "it's that crime never pays."

"This coming from a sky pirate…?" Vaan replied with a half banked stare. Basch simply smiled.

As the Seeq left and the crowd of children who had caught her wandered off to find something much more fun to do, the six were soon left with their gil and some ether all alone. Ashe was about to speak up about getting out of wet clothes, but was interrupted by Penelo, who sneezed quite loudly, "Oh…! Sorry!" She groaned, sniffling lightly, "The water just made me so…"

Ashe placed her hand on the young woman's forehead, and the princess smiled, "Penelo, you of all people caught a cold…?" She said with mock surprise, "I suppose you're going to have to take some time off from Mark Hunting, alright?"

Penelo sniffled from sadness, "No fair…! I love Mark Hunting…!" and then she promptly sneezed.

The End!

---

Hope you enjoyed it! Tell me if you hated it, please!


	4. The Marilith

Alright guys. Cheer for me, I just beat the game.

...I don't hear any cheering...

Anyway, I know you guys wanna see the Gil Snapper, the thing is... I forgot how I fought him, and I don't write about something unless it's relatively the same order in which I've fought it. Sooooo, Maybe when I replay the game, I'll fight it and we'll all be happy and I'll write it for you all.

If not... then I am not sorry. (Blatently stolen from Minsc)

Anyway again, Just like the Mind Flayer, I'm writing the Marilith like she SHOULD be. WTFreak was up with just random Snake body? Mariliths are so cool they should have had their OWN sprite. Yeah.

Anyway once more:

READ ON!

Mark Hunting:  
Marilith

"So this is the Zentenian Caverns…" Balthier said, shouldering his gun and settling down on a rock, "Doesn't seem so hard."

"Speak for yourself," Ashe replied, placing a hand on her hip, "Without Penelo, the going's getting pretty tough."

"She is still sick from that cold…" Fran said, although the previous statement was obvious, "but Nono will take good care of her."

---

"ASCHOO!" Penelo sneezed loudly, and a Moogle dressed in green ran around in circles on the Strahl.

"Oh my!" The creature cried, "You're not getting any better!"

"Oh… my nose…" The girl moaned, rubbing her sore, red nose, "I think someone was talking about me… but who…?" She was interrupted as Nono uncorked a medicine bottle and practically shoved it down her throat.

---

"Shall we wait here?" Ashe asked, settling down upon a rock after the men annihilated a toad next to them, "I'm getting a little tired, being the only real magic caster around here."

"You wound me, Princess," Balthier retorted with a smile, "You don't even know any Black Magic, while I…"

"Have no energy to cast any of it, hiding behind that gun of yours," Ashe hissed. The two bickered a bit more, and Vaan stretched out.

"So, we're down here to hunt the Marilith, right?" The street urchin asked Basch, "Why are we doing that again?"

"Apparently the venom from a Marilith creates some numbing properties, similar to alcohol. When diluted enough, it creates a magnificent wine," The knight replied. Vaan made a face.

"So we're killing a monster just so we can drink its fluids and get drunk?"

"I think that's the best reason to kill monsters," Balthier said brightly. Fran's ears twitched only slightly, which showed some sort of discomfort. Or amusement. It was hard to tell with someone like her.

"Well, either way…" Vaan muttered, turning on his heel, "Just wait for me here, I'll be right back. I have to take a pee." Ashe turned her nose up in disgust as Vaan left to answer nature's call. That was WAY too much information… Basch, however, simply shrugged and settled down next to His Majesty, waiting for the orphan to return.

Balthier and Fran weren't surprised when they heard a surprised shout. The four looked up when Vaan returned with a bloodied shoulder. He zipped his fly and whirled around, preparing for the battle against the monster that was crawling just from the corner.

A light line of drool slid down the corner of Balthier's mouth. A beautiful woman with long red hair and a small bra that hardly covered her chest moved into view along with her one pair of arms. They quickly turned into two pairs, and then three. The group blinked as the creature slithered fully into view. The lower half of the monster was made up of a bright red snake, six feet long.

Ashe gaped, "So that's…"

"The Marilith…" Basch murmured, joining Vaan as the boy held his sword aloft, preparing to fight against the Mark.

"Ohhhh…!" The Marilith murmured, her tongue forming words the group could understand, "What delectable little morsels! Normally the monsters eat Humeoids like you before I get a chance to eat them… But now I get to have my share!"

"Vaan, I know you can't hold your shield with your shoulder in that condition, but we need to provide support for the three behind us. Do you understand?" Basch said, drawing out his sword, "Vaan?"

"I… can't…" The young man murmured, struggling to move, "She… she…

"she bit me… when I had first… caught sight of her…" He fought the numbing poison, but it was just too powerful.

The Marilith giggled slyly and advanced quickly upon the two melee-ers. Basch rushed forward to protect his friend, but his opponent had six hands. Two pushed him back on his shield without much trouble. A third hand popped up and caught Fran's arrow mid-flight.

"Oh my…" Balthier said, "I never would have supposed Mariliths are such good multitaskers…" Ashe gave a shout when the enemy picked up the immobilized man with two of her hands, and the pirate cocked his gun.

"She's only got one hand left," Balthier muttered at Ashe, "Let's make it count…" Ashe nodded, and drew back an arrow, letting it fly. Vaan groaned lightly as the Marilith Protected herself, making the arrow that the princess fired ineffectual.

"Wait…" She murmured. Suddenly, it hit her, "Dispel!" The Marilith gave a small gasp as her Protection faded. Balthier smiled and fired into her shoulder. She gave a hiss as the bullet penetrated her flesh, and suddenly, a devilish smirk appeared across her lips.

"You want him? Come and get him!" She shouted. Fran visibly flinched and Ashe's stomach flipped when the demon easily snapped Vaan's neck in two. The snapping sound made even Balthier feel sick. The Marilith tossed the now dead Hume away with a smirk, and went for Basch next. She didn't realize the knight was so adept at fighting. She quickly lost a hand to his whirling blade.

The monster recoiled with a scream, her stub bleeding profusely. Basch rushed her again, but did not expect her tail to lash out. With a gasp, the knight was quickly surrounded and constricted. In only a few moments, the man would turn blue and die.

"Is this all you fools have?" She guffawed loudly, "My hand will re-grow in a few months. It's not like I need it at the moment anyway. You have done NOTHING to me!"

"Wanna bet?" Balthier asked. He turned to Fran, who nodded at him. He drew out a pole and prepared to cast, "Decoy!" All the Marilith saw was Balthier, haughty, cool, collected. He stood before her defiantly, and he smirked devilishly, "Come and get me, My Dear."

"Gladly, Prick!" She screeched, bearing down upon the pirate with her venomous fangs flashing in what little light was in the caves. She suddenly was struck on both sides by arrows as her attacks were parried by Balthier's pole.

The Marilith was confused for only a moment, wondering how she was attacked on all sides. After all, all she saw was the infuriating Sky Pirate before her. As she fought against the man, Ashe slowly stepped aside to tend not only to Basch, but to Vaan as well. After all, Penelo would be mortified if she found out what happened to the young man. Dropping her bow soundlessly, she drew up her sword and closed her eyes. With a large shout, she brought the sword down on the Marilith's tail, slicing half of it clear away.

The Decoy spell dissipated in an instant, and the Marilith writhed in pain, screeching so loud that Fran had to grab her ears to keep them from bleeding. Basch slipped nicely from the constraints and Ashe went immediately to Raise Vaan. The knight rushed back into battle and the princess began her casting over the deceased orphan.

The Marilith finally grasped the pole that Balthier held and hoisted him high into the air so she could look him squarely in the face. She caught yet another of Fran's arrows, "This is the part where you beg for mercy, Hume."

"I don't think so," Balthier said, his smile never wavering, "I've got this." And with that, he held up a lit bomb, doused in oil. The Marilith gave a scream and grasped at it, throwing it away. She looked down and saw that Basch was striking at her torso. She retaliated by jabbing the lightning arrow she caught from Fran into the man's wrist, twisting it mercilessly. With a roar, the knight dropped his sword, grasping at the arrow and trying to think of whether to pull it out or push it through.

Balthier was the luckiest Sky Pirate in Ivalice right now. He was held hostage by the Marilith, clasped in two of her marble smooth hands. He was at just the right height to stare happily at the huge rack in front of him. Fran's ears were back, looking rather angry, like a hissing cat, and she abandoned her bow, rushing to Basch's side. She grabbed at an item in his pack, and pulled out his spare katana, "May I?" She asked, rushing into the battle without an answer.

"Fran! What are you doing?" Ashe asked, "You've never used a katana before!"

"Samurai use the Bushido Code of Honor!" Vaan said quite suddenly, still groggy from just being revived. The Princess shoved him back into the ground to make sure he didn't get up prematurely.

"I have had the proper training to use this weapon," Fran said, spreading her legs and holding the sword up, "I will be fine."

"Ohhh, a Viera! How long has it been since I ate one of your kind?" She reached out to subdue the woman, but Fran would have none of that. With a small grunt, she swung her sword upward, and another of the Marilith's hands flew from her limb. She abandoned the weapon and leapt up onto the monster. The Mark screamed and grasped at the Viera, who had wrapped her legs around one of the arms to keep herself supported at such a high location, but Fran was quicker. The Brawler caught the hand and wordlessly twisted the wrist until it snapped.

The Marilith's vocal chords were obviously ruined by this time; they were too sore to make any real sounds. All she could do was flail mightily, and the Sky Pirates were sent sailing off into opposite corners of the cavern. Balthier cursed lightly as he stood, rubbing his head, "Dammit, was that some sort of charm she used, Fran…? Fran…?"

Balthier's blood ran cold as he noticed the Viera's unfortunate run in with a rather sharp rock to the head, blood splayed all over the pointed geode. He rushed to her side and drew out his gun to protect his partner as the Marilith slithered forward, a smile on her face. In one hand was Basch's own sword, and in another was his shield, "You don't think 'Monsters' know how to use your weapons?" She asked, though her throat was still sore, "Say goodnight, Bastard."

Balthier cocked his gun and prepared for the worst, as that was certainly what he was going to get. There was no time to cast any magic, although Bio may have been the best choice at the moment. He took a deep breath and steeled himself for the strike that was to come…

…and the group heard a strange squelching sound. The Marilith blinked, and looked down to see a sword protruding from her stomach. Vaan was on the other side of the monster, his breathing labored but his sword arm true, "Don't you…" He gasped, "Don't you EVER… hurt my friends…!"

The Marilith writhed a bit as Vaan twisted the blade, shoving it deeper into her stomach, "Did you HEAR me? Don't you EVER, EVER hurt my FRIENDS!"

Balthier glared rather angrily through the monster's stomach and at Vaan. He was stealing the LEADING MAN'S thunder! He assumed the orphan was stealing the pirate's own dramatic speeches. Well, either way, the Marilith wasn't dead, so the Sky Pirate figured that would be HIS job, "This is for your stupid charm stuff!" He said, aiming straight between her eyes, "And this is for what you did to Fran! You forget, Miss Mark, one vital detail. You can't kill me," a smile appeared on his lips, "because the Leading Man never dies!"

He fired true, despite the Marilith's writhing. A small spurt of blood flew from her head as she crashed to the floor, right on top of Vaan. Balthier didn't want to be rude, but the orphan kind of deserved that for stealing the spotlight.

Princess Ashe looked around at everyone. They were all cut up, bleeding, and otherwise incapacitated; all except her, who didn't even get touched through the entire battle. She quietly wiped dust from her outfit and rushed to heal Fran. The Gods must really have been smiling on her that day…

"That's it?" Vaan asked, staring incredulously at the bag that Basch raised up after draining the last of the venom in her sacs, "That's nothing more than like… a few quarts, at most…!"

"I said they dilute it," The knight replied with way too much patience for a normal Hume, "This will make at least five gallons of the Marilith Wine."

"I wonder if the man will let me have a few pints…?" Balthier wondered nonchalantly as Fran was Raised.

"I would prefer it if you don't," The princess replied, almost sinisterly, "The next thing you'll do is force it down Vaan's throat."

"And waste such a fine delicacy on someone who won't truly appreciate its flavor?"

"What's that supposed to mean!?"

---

"Vaan!" Penelo said happily as the group returned to Dalmasca, "Ohhh, I'm so glad you're okay!"

Vaan held the girl at arm's length, "You're still sick, aren't you? I don't want to get sick too!"

"What are you talking about? You're the one who always sleeps with his belly out!" Penelo muttered, suddenly sneezing. Vaan smiled as he proved his point, "No fair… no fair at all…"

"Well, now that we've picked up our resident phlegm factory," Balthier began, earning a glare from Penelo and Ashe, "Let's turn in this stuff and get our reward! Hey Nono, take care of our ship for us, alright?"

"Kupoooo, do take care!" The Moogle said, hopping up and down and waving them goodbye. The group then left the hanger with one extra on their heels, trying in vain to look as energetic as she usually was.

---

The bartender of the Sandsea gave an eccentric whoop, "You got it! You really got the venom from the Marilith for me!"

"What did you expect?" Vaan said, rubbing the back of his neck. It felt so annoying; it was killing him, "That we wouldn't be able to?"

"Well, to tell all… the last few who went off to fight the Marilith never came back."

"…I'm glad you told me that AFTER they came back alive…" Penelo muttered, "I would have wanted to come with you guys…" She turned to Vaan, who seemed a little TOO interested in his neck, "Are you SURE you're okay, Vaan? The Marilith didn't hurt you too badly, did it?"

"Nahhh," Balthier said as he received the pay (And made sure the Gil was all real), "Vaan's a sturdy kid. He didn't even have to do much. He was safe and away from all the fighting for most of the battle." Fran and Ashe looked at each other, trying not to smirk.

"Yeah yeah, but let's get out of here," Vaan said, "I'm too excited about that last fight to stay here any longer! Let's find the next Mark and take him down!" The rest of the group started out, but for an excited adventurer, Vaan certainly was taking his time leaving the Sandsea. When he made sure that all of his companions had left the bar, he grabbed his head and twisted it harshly, snapping it one way, and then again, snapping it back into place, "Ahh! That's MUCH better!"

The Dalmascan orphan left the bar with the entire place staring dumbfoundedly after him.

The End!

---

Hoped you enjoyed it! Now remember everyone:

Mariliths are great multitaskers.


	5. The Deathscythe

Alright, here we go. This is the Deathscythe, from the Necrohol of Nabudis. The characters (and myself) have gotten stronger, and are going further than even the last bosses' abilities! Oh yeah, you may want to read up a bit on the bestiaries of "Deathscythe"_  
_and "Banshee" to understand a few things. Also, you may have wanted to play Final Fantasy VI to understand a little bit about the myths and stuff that are written here. If you haven't played FFVI, then go grab a GBA and the game. Those two bought used cost about the same as a random PS2/PS3 game, and it's REALLY good.

So without further ado:

READ ON!

Mark Hunting:  
Deathscythe

_Return it…_

Who… who ARE you?

_You must return it…_

You… no… you must be…

_Return the axe…_

No…! No…! It can't be…! Not YOU!

---

"And then our employer woke up," Balthier explained.

"I still don't get it…" Vaan said, "The Nabudean man stole an axe…"

"From a dead Nabradian soldier…" Ashe interjected.

"And some monster is getting back at him by denying him… sleep…"

"That's about the gist of it!" Penelo said, obviously not worrying about this as much as Vaan was.

"But… how come he's not like, KILLING the man? I mean, can't he just teleport over and kill him? Why is the Deathscythe just TALKING to him in his dreams?"

"Vaan, you obviously don't understand the legend of the Deathscythe, do you?" Ashe asked, as if addressing a three year old who didn't know any better. Penelo smiled as she waited for a story to be told, and Vaan's eyebrow rose. The princess looked up and called for the royal knight, "Basch, we're taking a break!"

The knight gave a low, thankful sigh, flicking a Baknamy's corpse off of his Runeblade. Fran shouldered Save the Queen, and the six gathered around the princess, as if they had forgotten they were wandering through the Necrohol of Nabudis, one of the most fearsome and loathsome lands in all of Ivalice. "Well, once upon a time…" Ashe began, "many millennia ago… there were Summoners who had control of Espers just like the ones we use ourselves. The first Deathscythe, born from the hatred of soldiers who had died and from the regrets of those who had lived, attempted to steal the souls of the Summoners…"

"Did the Summoners get killed?" Penelo asked. She earned a light reprimanding from Basch, who told her to let Ashe finish. It was only polite.

"The Summoners were able to defeat the Deathscythe, even though he had meant to weaken them enough to suck their souls dry, he found that the Summoners were pure of heart, and with their purity, they purged part of the Deathscythe's evil. Now, instead of killing for fun, they do their best to protect their homeland and their fallen comrades. The little bit of purity that the Summoners instilled in the Deathscythe makes it to he refrains from attacking his opponents directly, but prefers to let them either die of sleep deprivation or let them return the stolen item."

"So the Deathscythe is only doing a service for his friends?" Vaan asked, "And we're killing it because of that?"

"However, the Deathscythe is a monster who has killed many scholars who have tried to learn what they can to raise Nabudis back to a kingdom worth respecting," Basch replied matter-of-factly, "Usually a Mark cannot become so unless it has killed many people already. The Necrohol of Nabudis may yet be cleansed of Mist someday…"

"Perhaps… Although I don't know of anyone who would feel like they wanted to live here after everything that happened here…" Ashe sighed, "There would be too many bad memories… Who would want to…"

She blinked at the five, who were staring behind her with wide eyes, "What's wrong…?" Ashe was given an answer as an Oversoul cast Annul, draining every bit of her energy. She dropped to the floor with a gasp as Basch rushed in to protect his lady.

---

"I can…'t walk another step…" Poor Penelo complained, her staff practically supporting her light frame, "These stairs… I can't walk up another step… That Oversoul… he really hits hard…"

"Can't you heal her, Princess?" Balthier asked, turning to the princess.

"I'm sorry, I'm unable to. I used the last of my magick prowess to use Protectga," She replied.

"You can't run out of energy!" Vaan said with an air of worry, "You're our main White Mage!"

"I'm sorry I was Annuled, Vaan," Ashe said, looking away with a sigh. Vaan winced from his harsh words.

"I didn't mean it like that, I'm sorry I was so mean…"

"What about our potions?" Fran asked turning to face the group (As she was leading at the moment), "We have plenty of them in our inventory."

"I don't think I can drink forty of them…" Penelo groaned from the memory of what happened last time she did so, "I'll throw it all back up…"

"Well then, Penelo, drink as many as you want, and stay away from the battles. We'll take care of you until the princess gets her energy back," Balthier said, "You think you can hang on that long?"

"Y…yeah," She replied, smiling brightly so as not to worry the group, "I'll be fine."

"Babil, five paces ahead," Fran said almost mechanically. She, Basch and Vaan went to attend to the monster, and the heavenly construct began casting magic upon them as Penelo puffed and wheezed behind them.

_Are you tired…?_

"Yeah, really tired…" Penelo murmured, feeling drained.

_You need your rest._

"I think I do…" The girl replied soundlessly, leaning against the wall and squinting to see the blurry shapes fighting against each other. Ashe turned and gasped.

"Penelo? Penelo…!?" She asked, fear rising in her voice, "Balthier, something's wrong with Penelo!"

The sky pirate whirled around as Penelo's eyes drooped. Ashe's frantic cries went unheeded as the two suddenly saw a ghostly apparition appear behind the girl. It was draining her soul away…

_Good night, Little One…_

"Good…" Deathscythe let the girl's life wink out, and her head dropped forward. She didn't even finish replying, as her pure white soul was slowly drawn into the demon's being.

"Vaan! Basch! FRAN!" Ashe screeched in desperation as Balthier began to cast Flare, "We need you! We need you NOW!"

The three turned around after the golem dropped, reduced to rubble. Vaan blinked at his friend, now deceased, and rushed towards the enemy, who was still stunned by the sky pirate's spell.

"Penelo!!!" Vaan roared, slicing at the enemy with his Runeblade, "Give her back! Give Penelo back!"

Ashe gave a shout of warning as the young corpse suddenly reached out, grabbing at Vaan and wrapping her arms around his neck. Basch gasped in realization, the young woman was taken by the monster. She had become one of the undead… Penelo's corpse glanced up at Vaan, her face screwed with pain and sadness. Tears fell down her face for those who had lost their lives like she had, and she began to wail in misery for those who survived their comrades. The Deathscythe had turned Vaan's childhood friend into a Banshee.

"What do I do what do I do…?" Ashe asked herself as the Deathscythe left Vaan with Penelo, as the boy was transfixed on the pure horror and wretchedness of the monster who had once been his friend. The princess thought of one thing, "What if I heal her…? If I…"

"She's undead…" Fran said coldly as Basch held the Mark at bay, "You will kill her if you do so…"

"P…P…Penelo… I'm sorry…! I'm sorry! I should have let you have that X-Potion…!" The boy sobbed, dropping his weapons to cry uncontrollably. He had already been overcome with grief by the new Banshee's innate magick.

"What do you propose we do? I can't…"

"Heads up, Vaan!" Balthier shouted, "Stop!" The Time spell worked perfectly, and the two were locked in a statuesque embrace, both faces grotesque with sadness and depression, totally unaware that for them, time had been removed. The man then turned and smiled in Ashe's direction, "Alright, we'll think of what to do after it wears off."

Ashe and Basch blinked at their Stopped friends (well, Stopped friend and former friend), thinking that perhaps that fix was quick but cruel… Nevertheless, it worked, and together, the knight and Fran hacked at the enemy. They would have to finish it quickly if they wanted to take care of the children before the spell wore off.

The Deathscythe would have none of this. It rushed headlong into battle, its scythe-like fingers slicing at Basch. He growled and held it at bay, but he was thwarted when he heard a sickening crack. The monster had put so much force on the multiple comboed attack that it had snapped the knight's arm. He raised his sword to ward off some blows, but it was too late. The Mark clawed at the knight, effectively disemboweling him. Ashe covered her mouth with her hand and tried not to cry as the man dropped to the floor, his eyes listless and wavering.

_You are in pain, are you not…?_

"Go to Hell…" He was able to spat with what little energy he had, as the rest was already being drained away, "Where you belong…"

_I can make it all go away…_

"My Lady…" Basch whispered, just enough that the princess heard it in the still Necrohol air. She saw him extend his bloodied, broken arm just so that it reached for her, "Take… care…"

_Your soul is…_ The Deathscythe was cut off when Fran easily cut its demonic face in two, leaving a scar along his face that drained dark, black mist into the air. Ashe was immediately at her knight's side.

"Your battle is with me…" Fran said simply, holding Save the Queen at an angle. She prepared herself for the deadly onslaught that it would give her.

"Curaja!" Ashe sobbed, using what little energy she had regained to heal her friend, "For Gods' sake, Curaja!"

Basch and Fran felt the desirable spell, and the healing wind even lifted Basch and Ashe from the ground, placing them carefully on the floor, ready to fight again. The Deathscythe was not pleased…

"Flare!" Balthier shouted, frying the Mark further. It knew what to do, and cast Annul on the sky pirate, making him nearly drop to the floor from lack of energy. Now he knew what Ashe felt like… The Deathscythe then turned to face Fran, but all it saw was Basch. Turning around, it saw Basch again, and again, and again.

"Confused?" The knights asked, raising their swords. The monster didn't understand! Where were the others? Where WERE they!?

Ashe smiled at her use of the Decoy spell. She turned to Basch and asked, "Is this alright?"

"I will protect you to the end, My Lady…" He responded to Her Highness. She nodded and let the three continue the fight while she thought of how to help the children, still Stopped in time.

---

The Decoy spell finally wore off, but the Deathscythe was damaged badly. There was no way it was going to get out of the battle. It was going to lose… It screamed and attacked for all it was worth, but Basch and Fran struck at it one last time. The monster dropped, and the Mark was killed…

"Penelo…! Please… S…s…speak to me…!" Ashe whirled around as Vaan suddenly started crying again. Well, really didn't start, more like continued from where they left him. The Undead raised her head, and the corpse opened her mouth, ready to bite into her former friend's Jugular Vein. However, Ashe knew exactly what to do to protect him.

"Balthier! Blind me!" She shouted, rushing to fight the monster that Penelo had become.

Balthier didn't understand, "What do you mean? I only have a little energy left, I don't know…"

"Don't ask questions, just DO it!" The princess screamed.

Ashe thrust Vaan away, and the boy fell to the floor with only a few scratches, just as the sky pirate released the spell, blinding the princess. She couldn't see Penelo's sobbing, and covered her ears to avoid hearing the wailing as well.

"Please let this work!" She cried, holding Penelo back with her rod, "PLEASE!" Basch and Fran watched as many white wisps of light flew out of the Deathscythe's being, most flying off into the air, but one staying behind to hover above Penelo's corpse. Vaan wiped his eyes and stared at the corpse as Penelo's soul slowly and assuredly entered her body through her mouth.

Ashe waited as the Banshee backed off, and suddenly, the girl dropped against the wall, sighing in relief, "Oh…! Everyone!" She said, tears springing to the corners of her eyes, "Thank you so much! You saved me!"

"Penelo?" Vaan asked, almost unsure that it was true. Ashe crossed her hand over her eyes and the blindness was immediately removed. Penelo looked tiredly at Vaan, a smile on her face, and he sniffled, his nose filled with phlegm from crying when she was formerly undead, "Penelo, it's you!" He cried, rushing forward to touch her and make sure that she was okay.

Penelo held him at arm's length, "NOW who's the one with the stuffy nose?" She said venomously. Balthier laughed out loud despite himself, and Vaan glared at the sky pirate angrily.

"Shall we be off?" Fran asked, wiping off Save the Queen and sheathing the greatsword.

"I think we should rest for only a moment, so Lady Ashe can help Penelo recover," Basch said, "Then we can be off." Those five words was what EVERYONE wanted to hear…

---

_Return it…_

N…nooo! Not again…!

_You must return it…_

Nooo! Leave me alone! Leave me alone!!

_Return the…_

Re…return…? Wait… you… it's over? You're gone…! It's OVER!

---

The group arrived in Nalbina, tired and sore. However, it was a quick walk from the Aerodome to Popol, who, to their surprise, was not lying on the floor, but standing up! He waved to the group energetically and smiled widely, "I know! I knew from the beginning! I was trying to keep awake, but my eyes wouldn't stay open, so I fell asleep. And then the Deathscythe came again! He told me to return the axe, just like usual… but then suddenly…"

"Suddenly…?" Vaan asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"He just… disappeared!" Popol leapt for joy, straight into the air. Penelo giggled when he clacked his heels together and landed once again, "and I have all of you to thank for this! Thank you! Thank you so much, all of you!"

"Blast it, Popol!" A blue Seeq cursed loudly, "You're usually so tired. Stop being so energetic, it's got us working hands looking bad!"

"Jovy! Jovy, listen to this!"

"If you're trying to sell me that cursed axe again, Popol, I ain't buying it!" The Seeq shouted, "Now stop being happy or so help me Gods…"

"That's just the thing! Jovy, it's not cursed anymore! These people went and killed the monster! I'M FREE!" Jovy looked up, staring at the six. He snorted, sounding much like a pig, and whirled around, leaving quickly. Popol blinked, and shrugged lightly, "Anyway, thanks again. Here, I have a bit of money, but I found this in the Necrohol, I hope you like it." Penelo blinked at the stone he placed in her hand after Balthier got the gil. She stared at it, and held it up in the sun, "I hear that they're called Souls of Thamasa. Whatever Thamasa is…"

"It was a land across the sea, where Mages of all sorts lived," Balthier replied, checking to see if the gil was all real. "Those are also known as Gem Boxes."

"Well… it is kind of rectangular, and it does look like a box…" Penelo said, moving the gem around in the sun. Vaan watched as it spread multicolored lights onto her face.

"Well then, that's it then, we're off!" Ashe said, "Good day, Popol, and don't go grave robbing anymore!"

"Right! I don't think I have the energy to handle another Necrohol excursion. You don't know how strong those monsters are… oh wait, I suppose you do…" He said after thinking about it. Basch merely shook his head with a smile.

"So are we selling this?" Vaan asked, reaching out to take the treasure from Penelo.

"Please don't!" She said, holding the gem away from his reach, "I really like it… it reminds me of Larsa's Nethicite gift… can't we keep it?"

Fran smiled and Balthier sighed, "Well, I suppose we could just get another one from down in the Necrohol…"

"Thanks Balthier, you're the best!" Penelo giggled. Now it was the sky pirate who looked tired…

The End!

---

Alright, here's what you may want to know about FFVI stuff:

First of all, the Deathscythe has some of the characteristics of a certain boss in FFVI. The SNES version had its name as "Wrexsoul", I believe, but I forget what they called it in the newly translated GBA version. This boss is actually a lot easier than Deathscythe. A nice "Warp" (read: X-Zone) spell will kill his assistants and the game "Assumes" the boss is killed, therefore defeating him in one hit.

Second of all, the item you obtain for beating Deathscythe, the Soul of Thamasa, is an accessory in the GBA version that allows Double Casting. In the SNES version, it's called the "Gem Box". I figured you'd guys like an explanation about that stuff.

Hope you guys enjoyed it! Review, NOW!


	6. The Piscodaemon

I guess I'll put this up. It sucks like hell though.

This was partly a gift for my friend who likes Balthier and Fran. I wrote this a LONG time ago, way before Revenant Wings pretty much made the pair a canon couple, so their exchanges don't look BalthierxFran-ish. Maybe later though I'll make some BalthierxFran and VaanxPenelo. Finally, some actual canon pairings!

A warning to people who are squeamish about cannibalism. ...there's references to cannibalism in here.

Anyway, Piscodaemon. Aweeeeesome...!

READ ON!

---

"This was the stupidest idea ever…"

"Next time you can think up what to do."

"It's not fair…"

"Life isn't fair."

"This is so boring!" Penelo groaned. She turned to Balthier and Fran, who were picking teeth and rearranging a high heeled shoe, respectively, "I wanted to go fight the Trickster with Vaan! How come I had to go with you to find this dumb Piscodaemon?"

"Because we all agreed it would be better if we split up and did different Marks," Balthier explained, "The faster we kill the marks, the faster our rank increases and the less Vaan whines about how ours isn't high enough."

Penelo sighed, and Fran, as usual, refused to get into the conversation, "Fine, let's just get this over with. If we finish first, at least I can have a little bit of bragging rights…"

"Sure you will…" Balthier replied, taking the lead, "Now come on, everyone, let's go."

Penelo gave a sigh and followed him off, sulking terribly, "It's no fair…" She muttered, "It's just not fair at all…"

Fran looked down on Penelo emotionlessly, and caught up with Balthier. He motioned for his partner, and she moved to listen to him whisper in her ear, "Fran, can you lead? I'll take up the rear."

"Are you worried about her?" She asked knowingly, a rare smile gracing her face. He would never change, and she wouldn't want him to for the world, "Go ahead. I will watch ahead."

Balthier nodded and shrunk back, unbeknownst to the young woman. He turned around and looked behind him. Confident that they weren't being pursued, he turned back and followed after the two. With two women in the group, it was up to him to protect them both. They wouldn't be scratched on his watch.

---

"Everyone, be careful!" Fran suddenly proclaimed. A Vivian was in their way. The monstrous, purple strain of Malboro breathed on the Viera, and Penelo felt empathy for the woman and her delicate olfactory. She doubled over and practically passed out, leaving Balthier to rush forward in her defense. Penelo wondered when he was in the back. Wasn't he leading…?

Snapping from her stupor, Penelo went to attend to Fran, and Balthier fought ferociously against the bad breath of the Vivian. Penelo pulled out a Remedy and handed it to Fran, who grasped at it blindly (Being blinded, obviously). She downed it, and reached out to take Penelo's hand. She got Balthier's, "You okay?" He asked, helping her up.

"Of course," She replied, her ear twitching slightly. Penelo frowned lightly.

"Of course she is! You don't think I take good enough care of you guys? I'm your White Mage!"

Balthier blushed from embarrassment and Fran smiled knowingly. It was never a good idea to get on your white mage's bad side… Fran returned to leading, and Balthier took the rear. Penelo continued to frown, and Balthier cocked his head to the side. Perhaps she was in a bad mood because she was PMSing? The Sky Pirate looked up and stared at Fran, wondering if that happened to Viera. _Wh… What in the WORLD am I thinking!?_ He groaned inwardly. Since when did he start thinking of things like that!?

"Balthier… are you okay?" Penelo asked, staring at him with worried eyes, "You're bright red…" Fran stopped and allowed the two to talk, and Penelo reached around for a thermometer, "If you're ill, I have to figure out what I need to use to heal it…"

Balthier began to speak and tell her that he was fine, but suddenly blinked at what was behind Fran, "F… Fran! Look out!" A Gargoyle Baron raised his spear, prepared to jab it directly into the Viera's shoulder. Fran was quick, however, and already realized the monster's presence. She whirled around and caught the wood of the spear, slamming her claw-like fingers at the face of the assaulter. The baron lost an eye as it fell from the sky.

"Alright! Fran, you're so awesome!" Penelo shouted. Balthier wondered why she didn't mention HE was awesome when he unloaded half of a round into the previous Vivian's mass.

"Thank you, Penelo," Fran said, ever courteous even though she seemed to brush the compliment off like water off a duck. She then pulled a bow out and motioned for the mage to follow her lead and prepare for battle; the baron was already pulling itself off of the floor. It was about to attack again, but Fran shot it thrice before it gave up and began to cast. Balthier rushed forward and raised his gun to fire before it got off, but the baron barely dodged the bullet and released the spell. Penelo braced herself and willed away the spell. It didn't affect her at all. However, the moment she looked up, she realized that was the only thing to celebrate about. Both Balthier and Fran had succumbed to Stop, freezing in their tracks. Worst of all, the baron was after her now.

She gave a cry and raised her fingers, prattling off the first Magick that came to her mind. The creature gave a gasp as wounds, old and new, suddenly opened. The baron could do nothing but watch as blood gushed from his wounds; more and more wounds opened, and he bled more and more. Penelo watched as the monster bled out in a totally agonizing way. Penelo gave a gulp of air and shivered both from adrenaline and fear for her friends. She needed to get them better!

…Or should she…? Thinking back, it was Balthier's idea to make them all split up, and Fran didn't do ONE thing to stop him…! If it weren't for them, she could have seen that pretty white Chocobo from the legends! She decided to let them stew a bit. She was so mad at the moment; she really didn't realize that they weren't really "stewing", as they couldn't feel the time passing. She gave a huff, turned around, and gave a silent scream.

The Piscodaemon, the Nu Mou's younger brother turned evil from his reliance on the power of Black Magicks, was staring her right in the face. "Hello…" he gurgled, apparently still capable of speaking Common, although he seemed rusty from lack of usage and his throat was physically unfit to do so, "How are you today? Have you offered those two's minds to me to eat…?"

---

The Piscodaemon hissed and gasped heavily, his breathing labored. He hadn't encountered such a capable mage before! This Hume woman was as knowledgeable about the various forms of Magick as most Nu Mou Sages! He couldn't understand. How could she have…?

But she had also lost a lot of her health. She was propping herself against her staff, her wounds now deep scars from lack of energy to heal them completely. Her skin let off a slightly charred smell and her hair stuck up from the various strikes of electricity he had sent her way. Two of the most powerful mages in the known world had reduced most of the room around them to rubble. It was then that the tentacle-faced creature suddenly laughed. Penelo stared, unfazed but only slightly curious, "Wh… what's so… funny…?"

"It's such a shame that a most wonderful magician like you must be limited by the laws and rules of the universe. With potential like yours, you could tear down the very laws of physics…"

"I… I don't care about that…!" Penelo said, waving the monster's words away (and nearly falling over from lack of energy), "All I care about right now is…"

"You can have it…" The Piscodaemon continued, eliciting excited, guttural sounds, "How would you like eternal life? Eternal knowledge…? Everything your heart desires…?" Penelo was swayed by the words (quite literally, because she was swaying from trying to keep her knees from rattling), "I became a higher being, a creature that no person can look down on. I am at the top of the universe. You can be too…"

"Once my friends are unstopped…" She shuddered and dropped forward. She hissed, repulsed, when the Piscodaemon reached out to catch her, "We're going to… rip you… apart…"

"Have you ever tried brain? They say that eating the brain membrane of certain animals like Cockatrice will make you smarter. If you can get smarter from a pathetic creature like that, what kind of immense knowledge will you gain from a Hume's mind?" The Piscodaemon smiled assuredly, "My dear woman, will you try some with me…? The brains of the Stopped fellows you are protecting will be a perfect start on your path to perfection."

The woman's eyes widened, disgusted at the very thought, "Don't TOUCH ME!" Penelo's anger was finally able to be vented on someone other than the Sky Pirate for once, and the Piscodaemon gave a gasp when she slammed her fist into his face. The creature flew backwards and landed roughly on the floor, squawking and sputtering madly as he grabbed at his face; the pain was nearly unbearable. He turned and stared angrily at the woman who stood and slammed her staff on the stone, "I'll tell YOU something, Mister! Eating peoples' brains is the grossest thing I can think of, and if you EVER tell me that's what I have to do to get smart, I'd rather be stupider than a rat!"

Penelo suddenly felt awfully strange. The Piscodaemon Inverted her health and energy, and she dropped to the floor with a groan. He rushed forward, prepared to finish her off first. With a brain as huge as hers, he would become even more powerful than any creature on the planet! He reached out to take the half conscious Mage, but was stopped when he heard a gun being cocked. Balthier pointed his weapon straight at the Mark, "If you dare touch her…" He said darkly, very much unlike his usual self, "I swear I will be the one who eats YOUR brain."

"You'll scare Penelo," Fran said, matter-of-factly, trotting over to tend to the young woman. Finding that she was okay, the woman stood and prepared to engage the Mark as well, "On your go, Balthier."

"What are we waiting for?" The Sky Pirate said with a smile, "Let's go!" He was interrupted as the Piscodaemon released another Invert and Balthier fell over with a shout. Fran shook her head lightly.

---

The two stood before Penelo, protecting her from the onslaught of magic. The Sky Pirates were acting especially unpiratey, acting selflessly and protecting innocents. However, the two had never been ones to do things by the book. The Piscodaemon floundered, attempting to keep himself floating above the floor, "D… damn you… you can't… do this to me… I am… to be immortal…"

"I don't know about you, Fran, but I never was one to roll over and die whenever gods came knocking at my door," Balthier said wittily.

"That's because gods never knock at your door," Fran replied matter-of-factly, the two completely ignored the enemy as they continued to talk; "I take it your name hasn't reached them yet."

"Have the names of Sky Pirates actually reached Heaven? I mean, we are CLOSER, but the gods seem to only care about kings like Raithwall. Maybe if I took over a kingdom I'd be talked about too."

"You do that… We'll see how far you fare," Fran smiled at the thought.

"HEY! Stop talking and look at me when I'm threatening you with impending doom! I'm still kicking! I'm still capable of…" The Piscodaemon was cut off when Balthier shot him in the head and continued to talk to his partner.

"So, you're saying I couldn't handle being a ruler?"

"I'm saying you couldn't handle the inevitable riots that would ensue from the idiotic laws you will definitely set during a bout of drunken insanity. There are things that even YOU cannot handle, Balthier."

The Viera's partner gave a "cheh" and looked away, wondering how to win this argument. Thankfully, the two were interrupted when their young defendee began to stand, "I…is it over?"

"Save your strength," Balthier said, kneeling down to keep her from standing, "do you want a potion…?"

Penelo looked up at Balthier, who smiled at her. She turned to Fran, who looked down on her with just a hint of worry, and back to Balthier. Even after all the horrible things she had thought about the two, they still protected her and smiled at her… She suddenly burst into tears and apologized profusely, "I'm so sorry! You're all so nice, and I was only being mean! I'm so sorry I was so mean to you!" She continued to cry, and Balthier, unsure of what to do, reached out to hold and comfort her. He turned to Fran, who scratched her cheek. Yeah, the girl was definitely PMSing. Maybe that was why Vaan asked them to take her…

"Hey, hey, it's okay…" Balthier murmured, prepared to make a half-assed cheer-up-speech on the spot.

"And I was even going to let you guys stay Stopped as a punishment because I was so mad at you!"

"It was you who protected us from the Piscodaemon, and… wait…" Balthier blinked at the young woman, "You were going to do what!?"

Penelo wiped tears from her eyes, and she chuckled a bit, "Well, if anything… you now have a half hour of extra time tacked onto your life span…"

"That doesn't give me all that much solace…" Balthier muttered under his breath.

"Well, you know…" Fran murmured, her ears twitching in what seemed to be delight, "If we hurry and go back to the Rift, we may be able to catch a glimpse of the Trickster before the others take it down."

"Hey, you're right!" Penelo said, suddenly looking a whole lot better, "I bet if we hasted ourselves, we could run there even faster!"

"There goes my 'Extra half hour of life'…" Balthier sight as Penelo began casting Hastega, "Really, Penelo, is there any spell you DON'T know how to cast?"

"I don't know," She said as the three were hasted. She began to rush off, "How many are there?" Balthier simply sighed.

The End!

---

Hope you liked it. It wasn't all that good though. Oh well, there's always next time, although that'll probably never come, since I haven't played FFXII in the longest time and I seriously doubt I'll ever get around to beating Ixion or anyone else...


	7. The Trickster

Nothing much to say. Hope you guys like it, I guess.

So without further ado:

READ ON!

--

It was frigid as always in Paramina Rift, which made Basch wonder why, yet again, Vaan was without a shirt. Why wasn't he getting caught with hypothermia? "It's because I'm always fighting," Vaan explained, "I can't be bothered with capes and stuff, they'll get in the way."

"Then you could try a shirt, at least…" Princess Ashe said, wrapping her cloak around her. Basch had bought the woolen article for her, and she seemed extremely happy to be able to wear something so comfortable, "Either way, we're after the Trickster?"

"Yeah, it's a white Chocobo who's been attacking people who hurt other Chocobos, right?" Vaan asked, turning to Basch.

"It truly is a wonderful beast," Basch replied, "Not many have seen it, but when it does show itself, those who tell the tale speak of the beautiful plumage it possesses. Any who could hunt down such a perfect creature would be known as one of the greatest hunters in the…"

"Yeah yeah yeah, could we speed this up?" Vaan asked, shivering, "It's freezing here!"

"And who's fault is it for not getting something warm? Seriously, Vaan, we aren't in the desert anymore, why don't you wear a shirt for once?" The princess chastised her subject. Vaan shivered but didn't retort. After all, what could he say to someone who was right?

"Took you kids long enough!" Basch stopped when he realized that the object before him wasn't an ice rock, but was actually another member of Clan Centauros, the Bangaa Monid, "I was just going to catch the Trickster on my own! Stay out of my way, and I'll let you see how a real Mark Hunt works!"

Monid was beginning to get on Vaan's nerves, "Hey, I'm not a kid!" The child said hot headedly. The three stared at him, and he blinked, "Alright, BASCH isn't a kid!" The guardian rolled his eyes, "And we have every right to catch the Trickster as you do!"

"Perhaps we could resolve this dispute with a truce?" Ashe asked, her smile never wavering. Ever the diplomat, the young princess was, "We can split the prize…"

"Four ways?" Vaan hoped, his Sky Pirate half getting the best of him. After all, he could just use Basch and Ashe's share for himself.

"Two ways," Monid hissed, knowing exactly what Vaan was insinuating.

"Three," Basch said. Now it was his turn to be stared at. He explained simply, "I shall relinquish my part so everyone else will get enough. I believe this is fair."

"Fairer than four…" Monid hissed, "I still say I should go it alone…"

It was then that a huge gust of wind blew down the canyon and into the valley. Snow swirled around the four, and Vaan wondered why Monid wasn't curling up and freezing to death. Wasn't he cold blooded? The Bangaa whirled around at the brewing snowstorm, and his eyes narrowed, "She's here."

"She?" Ashe questioned.

"The Mother of all Chocobos. The Trickster herself," Monid elaborated, "Wherever she goes, she kicks up the snow around her. We must locate and find her now or we may never do so again."

"Right then! Let's go!" Vaan said, rushing out so his freezing extremities got at least a little blood running to them. Ashe didn't like the idea of walking out into a snowstorm, but she herself said she would rather fight the Trickster rather than go after the Piscodaemon with Balthier and Fran. The less she could hang around that grinning Sky Pirate, the better. And so, she brought this upon herself.

"Come, Basch," She said as she took out her staff and began to walk on the powdered snow which blanketed the frozen river, "We have a Mark to hunt."

"At your side, Milady," Basch replied, nodding to her as she stomped through the snow, Monid taking up the rear and moving quite sluggishly. Ashe wondered if it was because he was cold blooded. Even now, he wanted to fight against the Trickster solo, despite his handicap? No wonder he was part of Clan Centauros; he was a true Mark Hunter.

Vaan was certainly having the time of his life, slicing apart the monsters around the group, and the princess wrapped her cloak closer around her. It was almost as if things got colder the further she walked down into the valley. It was then that she felt the cold flutter of feathers against her back, and she whirled around. There was nothing in front of her. Ashe gulped lightly and took a step backwards. Could it have just been her imagination, or…?

"She's here!" Monid shouted. Vaan whirled around. The wind howled, and Basch strained so he could be heard.

"She's down the river!" The knight roared.

"No! She's up here! Near me!" Ashe replied.

"Impossible, she just passed me a moment ago!" The Bangaa retorted.

"She's running rings around us!" Vaan shouted, "We have to slow her up! What can we do?"

Ashe thought hard, and snapped her fingers, "We could always… do things the simple way…" She said to herself, as her words could not be heard above the howling winds of the snowstorm. She raised her staff high above her, and the wind blew her cloak about her. Vaan stared in amazement at the mage's beautiful visage, and she threw her hands out, staff creating a black liquidic item, "Oil!" She shouted, spreading the green magickal substance upon the ground. In a flash, the beautiful Chocobo appeared, her fast movements stopped up when her claws dug not into something her claws could hook onto but slippery black glop. The princess stepped back and smiled at her handiwork as the Trickster squawked. She whirled around and nodded to Basch, "You're up," she said with a smile. The knight bowed and rushed forward, shouting loudly as the Trickster finally regained her balance.

"Not a bad job!" Monid said to the mage, rushing forward to assist Basch, and Ashe noticed the snowstorm was dying down as Vaan brushed by her to continue the assault. Without the Chocobo running, the snow was beginning to settle quite nicely. Also, the Trickster's beauty was slightly ruined. The perfect white and yellow feathers of the Queen of the Chocobos were marred by the black oil that coated her vaned feathers. However, that didn't stop the Mark from fighting back. Her hooked beak was a force to be reckoned with, and every time she brought it down on the group, she did a fair amount of damage. Monid screeched in horror as he grasped at his gouged out eye, and Vaan gave a gasp as she snapped her beak straight through his wrist, crushing the various bones into one mass of calcium and marrow. The young street urchin dropped his sword and screamed in pain.

Penelo was always the great Sage of the group, but it didn't stop the princess from being a great White Mage. She began the arduous process of healing the group with multiple "Curaga!"s. If only she had a way to make it so the Chocobo focus on Basch. Not only did he have a shield, but he knew how to use it (which was more than she could say for Vaan…). Unfortunately, she could do nothing but heal what damage they sustained.

There was a grunt, a shout, and a noise that made Ashe gasp in horror. The Trickster was a gorgeous, brilliant Chocobo, but every rose had its thorns. The wickedly shaped beak that reminded the group of the bird's protein based sustenance dug deep into Monid's armor, breaking skin and sinking into his stomach, lungs and kidneys. The Bangaa gave a grunt as the Chocobo opened her beak and chomped harshly. She snapped her head back and disemboweled the clan member. Ashe gave a screech of horror as Monid dropped to the floor. Vaan went into a rage at the sighed of a fallen comrade, and he landed a blow that started at the wing and sliced through the Chocobo's breast. Ashe rushed forward, towards Monid, in an attempt to heal the Bangaa, "Hang on, Monid! I'll be there!"

The Trickster screeched and slammed her clawed foot down on Vaan, crushing him on the floor. The Chocobo spread her wings and squawked towards the sky. The princess looked up and her eyes widened; a huge Choco Comet fell from the sky and slammed onto the woman's head. She crumpled to the floor in an instant.

"My Lady!!" Basch roared, dropping everything in an instant to protect his liege. The simple cloak blew around her as she lay, unconscious, on the ground. Vaan struggled for his sword, but the orphan stopped when he saw the impossible, or at least, what SEEMED like the impossible. Monid, despite his organs being effectively removed, was standing from the ground. Vaan stared in both disgusted horror and amazed reverence as the Bangaa screamed a warcry with his practically useless lungs and lunged directly at the Mark. The Trickster lowered her head to snap off the Bangaa's head, but instead, Monid struck a critical hit. An Eye for an Eye: he ripped out the Chocobo's eyes with two expertly aimed strikes, using only his hands as weapons. The Trickster backed up in pain and surprise; she couldn't see a thing, and she became incredibly disoriented. After all, a Chocobo's greatest sense was its sight. Now the battle would definitely be easier…

…if the Trickster weren't smart. In a last act of utter desire to protect itself, it created a perfect Paling that protected her from any strike. Monid pointed at the monster, ready for more… and then he dropped on the ground, staining the snow red and dying ever so quickly. Vaan struggled under the Paled Chocobo, and it abandoned the young street urchin to take down Basch, who was using what little White Magic he had to heal his princess. Vaan picked up his sword and shouted a warning, "Basch! Behind you!!"

Sometimes, the orphan wondered if the knight was really up to all of this. Dropping everything for one person wasn't very smart… And yet, times like this happened, and Vaan had to bite back his opinions. In a flash, Basch was up and ready; his shield slammed into the beak of the blinded Chocobo, blocking the strike. He raised his sword and parried the razor sharp beak, and raised his shield, blocking a huge Choco Comet from hitting both he and Ashe. The knight was single handedly protecting the entire group by protecting himself from the Trickster.

"What can we do?" Vaan asked, trying to attract the attention of the Chocobo so Basch would lose some of the brunt of the attacks, "Monid can't last much longer, and Ashe…"

"We fight, and we will win…" Basch replied, "I will revive Lady Ashe when I get a chance to breathe…"

Vaan didn't know just when that chance would happen…

Something pounded on the snow, rushing quickly towards the battle. Footsteps rained down as someone, or something, approached the battleground.

Vaan slammed on his shield and the Trickster squawked in surprise, losing her balance for just a moment. It was all Basch needed; he whirled around and began to cast Raise. The Chocobo would have none of that. She reached down to bore into the knight's exposed back…

But Vaan was quick. He may have been young, but he was experienced at warfare. He protected Basch as Princess Ashe rose from the ground, her eyes lidded and confused, "W…What happened…?"

"Monid! You need to help Monid!" Vaan shouted. The princess remembered what she needed to do and began to rush around the Trickster, but the Chocobo bore down on the three, snapping dangerously at them, "Ashe!!"

"I CAN'T!" Ashe screeched, tears appearing in the corners of her eyes, "Monid! Hang on!! Please!"

And suddenly, a feeling of dread and death filled their beings. Something was wrong… or maybe, something was incredibly right…

"Zalera!!" A tiny, feminine voice shouted into the wind. The young summoness raised her staff and pointed at the Trickster, "Help them! Draw the attention of the Chocobo away from the other three!"

Zalera, the Esper of the Judgment of the Dead, spread his wing and his shamaness moaned in revulsion and sadness. He flew to strike against the Chocobo, and although the Mark's Paling protected her, she found the Esper to be much more dangerous than the others, and she turned to fight against the Death Esper. Vaan gave a cheer as Ashe rushed to tend to Monid, "Alright! Penelo, I knew we could count on you!"

"Get away!" Penelo shouted, "Zalera'll kill you too!" Vaan blinked at what she said, not hearing it above the battle between the Esper and Mark, but Basch got the message and dragged the boy away.

"Monid, I'm here," Ashe murmured as she dropped next to the Clan Member. She began to cast as she spoke, "Just give me a moment, I'll Raise you…"

There was a cry from the Chocobo, and Zalera found that the Paling had fallen. The great Death Esper raised a hand and the woman attached to him screeched in pain as Zalera collected the souls of the damned. Their collective energy would be good enough to Condemn the Mark…

The Trickster screamed as she was blasted with death itself. Zalera glared daggers as the brilliant Chocobo lifted her head, gave one last squawk, and dropped to the floor, her beauty spoiled forever. Zalera licked his lips as he took yet another soul to judge and condemn unfairly, and he curled his wing around him, disappearing in dark swirls of energy.

"You know, you could have ASKED us before summoning something, Little Penelo," Balthier said good-naturedly, standing next to the Summoness as Fran came up from behind, "It's no fun being stuck in limbo, especially when we have no say in whether or not we go." Penelo turned to the Sky Pirate and giggled an apology.

"Steady as you go, Monid…" Ashe said, helping the Bangaa up, "Penelo, can you heal him, please?"

"Of course!" The young woman proclaimed, trotting up to cast Curaga. Monid chuckled in thought as his wounds disappeared.

"Well, whaddaya know? You guys aren't half bad. Hell, you aren't even a quarter bad," The Bangaa said, "I hadn't expected much, that's for sure, but both the Trickster and you proved me wrong."

"You sure you're okay, Monid?" Vaan asked as he approached the Clan Member. The Bangaa waved away the question with a laugh.

"Nah, nah, it's fine, I'll be at the Clan Hall. You should report back to the bill poster."

Balthier rubbed his nose in thought, "So, is there any money in it for you…?"

Monid didn't say anything, but smiled, "…I don't want to admit it, but these princesses saved my life. I'd gladly give my share to the two of them." The Sky Pirate always mentioned that he only needed treasures of real worth, but he would be damned if he didn't obligingly take whatever was in front of him.

"Pleasure doing business with you!" Balthier said as the Bangaa turned and went to order a Chocobo at Mt. Bur-Omisace. He then addressed the rest of the group as Ashe shivered in her cloak and Vaan stared in horror as he easily snapped off a frostbitten finger of his, "Well then, my good friends, this money could easily buy us some new parts to make the Strahl run much more smoo…"

"Did you hear that, Ashe?" Penelo asked the princess, interrupting the Sky Pirate, "He's giving us his share! I really needed a new dancing outfit. You think it would be okay?" She turned to the group, "…You think that would be okay?"

Balthier's smile disappeared in shock; Vaan agreed with Penelo as she healed his fingers (probably because she WAS healing his fingers), and the Sky Pirate shrugged, placing a nonchalant smile on his face, "I suppose that wouldn't be too bad. I'm sure you'd look quite fetching in a new outfit, Penelo." The young Sage blushed at the suave movements of the smooth talking Balthier, and she and Vaan walked back to get their reward. The moment Ashe and Basch turned to follow them, however, the Sky Pirate turned to Fran with a terribly sad face. Fran twitched her nose and followed the rest of the group, and the Sky Pirate groaned. This group had no idea how to balance a budget…

The End!

--

Hope you guys enjoyed it. Interesting tidbits are that I must be playing too much World of Warcraft. Basch's "At your side, Milady" comes from a boss in one of the dungeons in the game. The Paladin and Priest combo is a deadly force if people don't know how to handle them, although it'd be harder if the paladin actually healed instead of hit things like a moron.

Also, some monsters go into a rage after seeing a friend die in battle, much like Vaan did here. I need to get shot at for this, really.


End file.
